In The News

This month I’m thrilled to share with you our Influencer interview with Mellissah Smith. Mellissah is a global leader, marketing expert, author, writer, public speaker and technology innovator. She is the Founder and Managing Director of Marketing Eye, which she’s taken from startup to a multi-million dollar enterprise with offices in Australia and the US. Mellissah is also the Editor in Chief of Marketing Eye Magazine and the Founder of The World Incubator. I truly admire and respect Mellissah for what she has achieved. She is an incredibly generous, kind, game changing entrepreneur who has disrupted the marketing industry and is making a real difference to the lives of others in Australia and overseas.

Mellissah Smith shares her story.

You’ve been working in marketing for over 20 years, and there has been a lot of innovation during this time within the industry. What has been the most defining moment for you?

If you’ve Googled a restaurant recently hoping to check out its rating on Urbanspoon you’ll have noticed something strange – it no longer exists.

In January Indian start-up Zomato acquired the restaurant reviews site for an estimated $US60 million ($82 million) and in June Urbanspoon dissolved without fanfare, with its traffic redirected to Zomato.

The move has triggered angst from some of Urbanspoon’s loyal users, with a few taking to social media to voice their frustrations.

But independent brand analyst Michel Hogan said Urbanspoon users would most likely adapt to the new platform.

Published on The Age on November 5, 2014 and written by Sylvia Pennington.

It's one of the most critical - and sometimes ephemeral - aspects of business. So how do you get it?

Money may make the business world go round – but hot on its heels comes trust; the belief that the person we're dealing with is honest and will act in good faith. Most of us like to think of ourselves as "trustworthy" – but what does it actually mean and how do we go about convincing others that we merit the description?

Happy 2015! Here's to a making it the most #likeable year yet. Want to know what I love most about Twitter? The people. Reading tweets from my favorite thought leaders gives me such inspiration. That's why I'm thrilled to announce the top 150 thought leaders to follow on Twitter in 2015. Your Twitter newsfeed just got a whole lot more interesting.

Follow this list to keep up with all 150 thought-leading marketers in one place.

Are you a Jaxon, a Rylee, a Danyle or a Jorja? Or, as a parent, have you christened a Klowee, Zaq, Jesyka, Kayleb, or even an Epponnee-Rae, in tribute to the double-barrelled bub of Kath and Kim fame?

'Creatively' spelt names have become all the rage in recent decades. Parents in favour see them as a celebration of uniqueness that will enable their children to stand out from the crowd.

But what's the story when the schoolroom is swapped for the workplace? Is an unconventionally-spelt moniker a help or a hindrance when climbing the corporate ladder? The former, says Mellissah Smith, the founder of Sydney and Atlanta-based consultancy Marketing Eye, who scored her name by accident, courtesy of her immigrant father. "Mum and dad couldn't spell," Smith says. "My father hardly spoke English – he's Croatian – and he filled in the birth certificate."

Marketing Eye is disruptive by design, going into start-ups and existing businesses with change in mind. We use our 15 years’ of experience to reinvent your marketing potential, and take your business to a level not yet achieved.